I couldn't blame her. I'd hurt her. No. I betrayed her. Not that I cheated, because I didn't. But I had chosen Sandra and the baby, a little girl named Chelsea, over Kate. I didn't want to.
But what choice did I have?
I had to do what was right, not what I wanted. I had to think of Chelsea, not of myself or Kate or even Sandra. The problem was that doing right by Chelsea meant leaving Kate.
My father had done the same when he discovered that Max and I were his children. He married my mother, and they were married still. Very happily.
I couldn't imagine developing that kind of relationship with Sandra because I couldn't envision ever not being in love with Kate and wanting to be with her. My parents had proved that proximity, devotion to their children, and time could build a loving family. They'd even had another child, my sister, Vivie. For a short time, I thought that might happen with me and Sandra. But it didn’t.
Running into Kate was fate giving me a second chance. It wouldn’t be easy. If leaving her was the hardest thing I’d ever done so far in my life, I suspected that winning her back would be even harder.
While I wanted to go to Kate's club and park myself there until she gave me another chance, I knew I couldn't do that. While being with her was my new priority, my purpose in coming to Los Angeles was in finding a location for Max’s and my new business. So that's what I had to do.
My uncle Zach said he and his partner, Troy, would help us in building or restoring a building when we found one. So today, I was meeting with Zach at McLeod Capital Investment to discuss finding a location.
I blame my brain’s continuous looping thoughts about Kate for preventing me from realizing who Zach and I were meeting with. It wasn't until we were allowed into the CEO’s office that I realized we were meeting Ethan Wheatley, Kate's brother.
He stood from behind his desk, buttoning his coat as he came around to greet us. He extended his hand and a warm smile toward Zach as they shook hands. When he turned his gaze to me, his eyes went cold. His grip was hard, painful. He wanted to kick my ass, and if he ever tried, I'd have to let him because I deserved it.
Why he hadn't kicked my ass already, especially five years ago when I showed up trying to find her, was beyond me. If someone did to my sister Vivie what I did to Kate, I would definitely kick their ass. Max would too. Then again, nothing could have hurt me more than preventing me from seeing Kate, which was exactly what Ethan had done.
"We don't need financing," I said, wanting an excuse to leave. The fact that I didn’t want to face Ethan made me feel like a pussy. That’s what guilt did to a man. It made him a coward.
"MacLeod Capital investment also has real estate companies, and Ethan said he'd make sure we had just the right person looking for commercial properties or lots," Zach said.
Ethan motioned for us to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. "Not unlike your family in New York, the MacLeod family has a dominant presence in California real estate."
I nodded. "The Wheatley family does too, though, doesn't it?" It only just then occurred to me that Ethan was working as the CEO of another family’s company. Why wasn't he working for his family? Had he been kicked out?
Ethan's eyes narrowed, but then he put on a fake smile, leaning back in his chair looking relaxed. "Does the fact that you're opening a club out here mean you're planning to stay?"
The initial plan had been for me to be out here long enough to get the club up and running and train someone to manage it. I'd be here a year or so, and then I'd return to New York. At that point, Max would come out to Las Vegas and do the same there. Seeing Kate had changed all that.
"Yes. I bought a house and have settled in." I thanked my lucky stars that I’d decided to buy a home instead of renting one for the next year. It made me look settled. Surely, Ethan would see that as a sign of commitment.
"I don't normally mix business and my personal life—"
Zach let out a laugh. "From what I heard, Ethan, that isn't true."
Ethan grinned. "Okay, so one time I did. It ended well, considering I'm happily married." He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk. "Since it turned out so well, I have to think that there is a benefit to mixing business with personal, so I have to ask you, Sam, what are your intentions with my sister?"
Zach's head swiveled toward me, his eyes wide in surprise.
I shifted in my chair and hated that it gave away my discomfort.
"Is that why you're here? Because of Kate?" Ethan asked.
Zach turned his attention back to Ethan. "What's going on here, Ethan? Sam and his brother have legitimate plans to expand their club franchise."
Ethan sat back again. "I have no doubt about that. But why here? Is it because of Kate?"
I looked down for a moment, trying to decide which was the best answer. My purpose in coming to Los Angeles hadn't been to find Kate, but that didn't mean there hadn’t been a part of me wondering whether I would see her again and perhaps be able to fix what I had broken.
I lifted my head, looking directly at Ethan. "We chose Los Angeles because it's a major city with a vibrant club scene. The demographic for our clubs is here. But I won't deny that there was a part of me wondering, even hoping, that I might see Kate again. With that said, I had no idea that I would see her at your party the other night. It was completely unexpected, and yet..." I didn't finish my thought because the scowl on Ethan's face told me he didn't want to hear about my plan to win her back.
"What is going on here?" Zach looked from Ethan back to me.
“Sam hasn't told you about my sister? About how he seduced her, swept off her feet, proposed, and then left her for another woman?"